26/10/2025
Amid low palay prices, farmers urge repeal of Rice Liberalization Law
VIGAN CITY — The Alyansa dagiti Mannalon iti Ilocos Norte (AMIN) urged the government to address corruption and the ongoing decline in palay prices, which they said have worsened farmers’ hardships after recent typhoons destroyed crops across the province.
The group reported that agricultural losses have reached over P40.2 million due to successive storms, including Typhoon Emong and Super Typhoon Nando, which damaged most rice fields. Despite these losses, farmgate prices remain low at P8 to P10 per kilo for newly harvested palay and P11 to P15 for dried grain, far below the P20 per kilo needed to recover production costs.
AMIN blamed the Rice Liberalization Law (RA 11203) for the low prices, citing continued imports of rice. It also criticized what it described as corruption in the distribution of farm subsidies, noting past cases such as the 2004 fertilizer fund scam and the overpricing of agricultural inputs.
The group said the government’s failure to implement genuine land reform and food security policies has left farmers dependent on costly production inputs such as seeds, fertilizer, and fuel. It also claimed that some government-provided seeds are of poor quality and delivered late.
AMIN called on the government to implement a P20 per kilo floor price for palay, repeal the Rice Liberalization Law, grant a P30,000 production subsidy to farmers, ensure full compensation for disaster-affected farmers, and stop military harassment of peasant organizers.
The group said farmers need stable livelihood support instead of short-term assistance. # (Sherwin De Vera)
